BTC Mobile implemented Neural Technologies’ (NT) Minotaur™ solution to enable it to tackle fraud on its network.

BTC Mobile has over a million mobile subscribers. A fraud review carried out by the operator in 2006 highlighted several areas of concern, the most pressing of which was Bypass Fraud. Bypass Fraud is the illegal routing of calls in order to avoid paying interconnection fees. Legitimate operators negotiate interconnection agreements between each other that define the routes and the cost to terminate calls on their network; routing calls in a manner that avoids these agreed interconnection points is Bypass Fraud. The advent of Voice over IP (VoIP) has made Bypass easier and more common and large telcos are losing significant revenues to VoIP routing.

Based on the review, BTC Mobile entered into a tender process to find an external fraud system to protect its profits and reputation. NTs’ Minotaur™ solution came top of the list. “We selected Minotaur™ based upon its proven track record and its flexibility in accommodating new fraud trends and service offerings. We have not been disappointed; to date we are identifying in excess of 80% of Bypass Fraud on our network and expect to see this figure rise in the near future. Fraudsters should be aware that BTC Mobile has got tough on fraud and is no longer an easy target,” stated Mihail Radulov, the operator’s Fraud & Revenue Assurance Manager.

Luke Taylor, Commercial Director of Neural Technologies, said, “We are delighted to be working with the fraud management team at BTC Mobile. Their proactive and professional approach to combating network fraud, coupled with the capability of Minotaur™ and NT’s dedicated support, is already delivering outstanding results and is set to provide them with an early return on investment.”

About Neural Technologies

Neural Technologies has established itself as a leading provider of risk management solutions to the telecommunication and financial sectors. Formed in 1990, the company has built upon a foundation in neural analysis and design to provide quality products that increase bottom-line returns for its customers.

NT’s solutions enable organizations to profile potential and existing customers and to minimize financial risk to their business. They offer comprehensive risk management capability in the areas of fraud, bad debt, customer attrition and collections, from the initiation of service through to collection of payment.

NT has a customer base of around 40 organizations worldwide, including AT&T, Sprint, Brasil Telecom, T-Mobile, MTN, Zain, Telkom SA, Orange, 02, VimpelCom, TDC, GE Money, DiGi Malaysia, Axtel, and Digitel. NT is based in the UK, with offices around the globe.

For more information, visit www.neuralt.com

About BTC Mobile

BTC Mobile, the fastest developing company in the Bulgarian telecoms market, is the mobile arm of the BTC Group, which is the main telecommunications provider in Bulgaria. The BTC Group has 2.2 million fixed-line telephone subscribers, more than one million mobile service users and nearly 160,000 clients of high-speed ADSL. Nearly 10,000 people work at the company, making it one of the largest employers in Bulgaria.

At the beginning of 2005, BTC was granted a license to become Bulgaria’s third GSM operator and in November 2005, the company launched its mobile services under the Vivatel brand.

Since the privatization of the company, more than BGN 1.2 billion (as of today, over USD $0.9 billion) has been invested in the modernization of the telecommunications infrastructure. Over the past three years the company has invested nearly BGN 14 million (as of today, USD $10.7 million) in professional qualification and re-qualification training of its staff. As a socially responsible company, the BTC Group also annually invests in the development of Bulgarian society by supporting culture, sports and art.

For more information, please visit their website: http://www.btc.bg/en